MOD PUSHES AHEAD ON NUCLEAR OPENNESS

The Ministry of Defence today stepped into the next stage in nuclear
openness, hosting a seminar to discuss declassification of nuclear
information. Defence Minister John Spellar invited key academics,
non-Governmental organisations and journalists with a recognised interest in
nuclear issues to suggest how the declassification initiative could be best
designed to cater for their requirements.

This seminar moves forward MoD’s commitment to greater openness across
nuclear issues. Landmark progress was made in the Strategic Defence Review,
(SDR), July 1998, when the UK became the first nuclear power to release
information on holdings of fissile material. Applauded for its nuclear
initiative by international figureheads including Kofi Annan (UN Secretary
General), the SDR also clarified the scale of the UK’s operational nuclear
stockpile, numbers of weapons deployed on Trident submarines, and the cost
of nuclear programmes, all of which had previously been highly classified.

The major steps of SDR were announced as the first stage in a move towards
nuclear transparency and proof of MoD’s concrete commitment to Open
Government and Freedom of Information. Today’s event introduces the next
stage.

"Today is a unique opportunity for fruitful discussion on how we might
prioritise our efforts to ensure more information is made available to the
public. In today’s security climate, we can preserve our defensive
capabilities whilst at the same time releasing more nuclear-related
information to the public domain.

"This accords with our policy of greater openness and we recognise that
there is a legitimate public interest in my Department’s nuclear activities
from the standpoint of what we have done in the past, what our policy is,
what the costs are, and, most importantly, what are the safety and
environmental implications."

The aim of UK nuclear transparency is to promote international openness and
stability, helping to create the conditions, ultimately, for global nuclear
reductions. There are of course inevitable and valid constraints on
declassification.

MoD must obviously ensure that the information released does not undermine
the credibility of our nuclear deterrent, equipping potential proliferators
with the detail needed to develop nuclear weapons, or handing terrorists the
material which could affect the physical security of UK nuclear weapons.

International obligations must be respected and finally, resources must be
carefully harnessed. In the course of this initiative, MoD must navigate
through an archive of 50 years of nuclear history and it is not possible to
undertake a wholesale, retrospective release of historical or technical
documents.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

The Nuclear Information Declassification Initiative was
announced by Defence Secretary, George Robertson, in a
Nuclear Policy speech to students, academics and media at
Aberdeen University on 1 March 1999.

Those attending today’s seminar include Prof John Simpson of
Southampton University, Dr Brian Siebert of US Department of
Energy, Sir John Hill, former Chairman of UK Atomic Energy
Authority and Lorna Arnold, author of ‘A Very Special
Relationship – a history of the British atomic weapons
trials.’